


And I Still Want To Know You

by SadGelatin



Series: Still Want To Know You [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - No Capes, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mother-Son Relationship, POV Third Person Limited, fluff??, kind of??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:15:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SadGelatin/pseuds/SadGelatin
Summary: Belatedly, as he unlocked the door to his apartment, he realized that the man had walked away with his favourite jacket. He found he really didn't care, that the thought almost, even, made him smile a little.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> so  
> i should be writing my apocalypse au, and i am i swear it, seriously, i promise  
> but i wrote a missed connections ad for fun at three am (just for myself on a sticky note because i was super bored), and then i decided to write a short fic about it. so, here it is.
> 
> i know that this is vague, but that's because dick doesn't know jason's name and it's written from dick's limited point of view. also, this could be viewed as gen i guess??
> 
> i wrote this in like twenty minutes and posted it immediately afterwards without even proofreading, so all mistakes are my own.

It looked like it was going to rain that night, but after a week and a half of absolutely nothing from Babs, no call, not even a text, Dick needed a drink. Or maybe to get laid. Or both. Tim had called him earlier to tell him to stop moping, and Dick wondered how the younger man knew he was moping before realizing he hadn't exactly been being subtle about it. Before he'd left his apartment he'd showered and changed because he'd been so busy being upset about Barbara leaving that he'd forgone basic hygiene, and after he'd gotten off the phone with Tim, he'd realized how absolutely disgusting he felt.

As he walked down the sidewalk towards the nearest bar that he was least likely to get stabbed in, Dick checked his phone again. It was still frustratingly dead, and he had to tighten his grip on it to keep from doing something rash like throwing it, no matter how much he felt like he deserved to have an emotional outburst right now. He was distracted enough by trying not to break his phone that he almost didn't hear the quiet hitching of breath from the direction of the bus stop he'd just passed. He stopped and looked back.

Sitting on the edge of the curb was a young man, his dark head bowed, fingers knotted in his thick raven hair. His shoulders were hunched like he was trying to make himself look smaller, which may have been difficult had the man not looked so miserable.

Dick stopped, phone forgotten and tucked back into the pocket of his jeans, and walked over to the man. "Are you okay?" He asked, using his best calming voice.

The man's hands fell away from his hair and he looked up at Dick with eyes the colour of concrete. He immediately raised his hands again to wipe the dampness from his eyes, in the process smearing blood from a wound on his forehead across his brow. There was also a split on his full lower lip, dribbling blood down his chin, and a bruise forming on his cheekbone. His hair was mussed from his fingers and sticking up like he'd been pulling at it, and his clothes were a mess, damp with sweat, stained with red, and torn like he'd been in a fight, which Dick figured he probably had been.

Dick realized he'd been staring and didn't know if the man had responded or not. Instead of making an ass of himself, he just assumed that no, the man was not okay, and sat down on the curb next to him, "That shiner looks like it hurts." He commented idly.

The man beside him scoffed and shook his head, "Shove off." He muttered, almost too quietly for Dick to hear. The man wrapped his arms around himself and stared blankly across the street. He'd stopped crying but the tear tracks were drying in salty lines down his face where he hadn't rubbed them away.

Dick didn't move, but he didn't say anything for awhile. Instead, he looked up at the sky where clouds were beginning to clump angry and dark, blotting out the moon. He shrugged out of his coat and twisted his fingers in the fabric for a moment before offering it to the other man.

Who stared at him with an arched eyebrow.

As an explanation, he gestured up towards the sky, "It's going to rain, and my clothes aren't falling apart."

Dick swore he saw the man smile just slightly, but he didn't think too hard on it because the man took the coat from him and laid it over his shoulders. Dick realized that there was no way the coat would fit properly, because the man's shoulders were broader than his own.

The man leaned back a little and turned his face upwards just as the sky opened up above them. The rain started lightly, but soon fell steadily, making the man's hair lie flat against his head and soaking Dick's clothes. It washed the blood from the man's face and the salt from his tears, and Dick stared until he ducked his head again.

"What happened?" Dick asked, and then cursed himself internally for breaking the silence with such a stupid and invasive question.

The man snorted in disbelief and shook his head, "It's none of your business." He replied. He shifted beside Dick, and for a moment, Dick thought he was going to walk away, but instead, he just pulled a battered pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and a lighter. He tapped one from the pack and then looked at Dick, holding the crumpled box out towards him, "Want one?"

Dick shook his head. He didn't smoke and he didn't really want to start now, "No, thanks." He said.

The man hummed and ducked his head to light his own cigarette, "You wanna share one then?" He asked with the cigarette in his mouth.

Dick thought about the blood on the man's lower lip, and the logical part of his brain told him no. Because Dick didn't smoke and the man was bleeding and Dick didn't know what kind of things were in this man's blood. Instead of saying that, though, Dick shrugged his shoulder, "Alright."

The man looked mildly surprised but held the cigarette out to him. Dick took it and placed it between his lips, internally cringing at the taste as he took a drag. And then started coughing. He turned his head away from the man, holding the cigarette out of the way as he coughed up his lungful of smoke, and for a moment, he didn't hear that the man beside him had started to laugh.

Dick got his breath back and turned to look back at the man, registering his laughter. It was such a nice sound, and the man looked... beautiful with a smile on his face, and Dick couldn't find it in him to be offended that the man was laughing at his expense, "Okay, so, truthfully, I don't smoke." He said, offering the cigarette back.

"I kind of guessed." The man slowly stopped laughing and took the cigarette back. Dick noticed that his knuckles were split and blood, and he got the urge to take the man's hand in his own and rub his thumb over the injuries, but neither of them had even properly said hello, and that was way too forward. He hadn't even asked the man's name.

"I'm Dick, by the way."

"That's an unfortunate name." The man replied, and pointedly did not offer up his own name. He took a drag off the cigarette instead, and slowly blew out the smoke. Dick watched the white wisps curl up from the man's mouth and shroud his face briefly before dissipating with the rain.

He was transfixed as the man finished his cigarette, and was startled when the man suddenly stood up, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his boot. Dick didn't stand up, just looked up at the man as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Uh... Thanks." The man cast his eyes to the side when he spoke, and hunched his shoulders awkwardly before turning and walking away. Dick watched him go, getting up finally when the man turned the corner and disappeared.

Dick didn't feel like drinking anymore, so he started to walk home again.

Belatedly, as he unlocked the door to his apartment, he realized that the man had walked away with his favourite jacket. He found he really didn't care, that the thought almost, even, made him smile a little.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Catherine pulled her hands away from his and cupped his face, "Jason, it makes me sad that you would think a good man is too good for you." She said, her voice taking on a firm edge to it, "You're a good man too." She combed her fingers through his hair and he leaned into her hand, "You wouldn't take care of me like you do if you weren't a good man. And you wouldn't stand up to your father, even if it gets you hurt." She pressed a gentle kiss to the gash on his brow._
> 
> Jason returns home after meeting Dick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for this: referenced domestic and child abuse. mentions of drug abuse. really fucking angsty. whoops.

Jason slipped back inside the dingy two-story brick brownstone that his family lived in, doing his best to keep quiet. His hair was sopping wet and sticking to his forehead and cheeks and the back of his neck, and his shirt was ripped and the stains from his own blood were running pink from the rain water.

He shook his hair out habitually like a dog then shrugged the borrowed jacket off his shoulders. He clutched it in his hand, feeling the worn leather material before he let out a laugh. Dick. What a dick. Who did that guy think he was, bothering him while he was trying to be alone? Why hadn't he left sooner?

He slung the rain soaked coat over his shoulder and went to shower, washing the rest of the blood from the cuts on his face and his knuckles. He hung the coat up in the tub once he was finished, and left it to dry before he went to check on his mom.

Catherine was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at a bloody rag in her hands. Jason carefully took it from her and crouched beside her, "Mom?" He asked quietly.

She blinked and looked at him. Her eyes were glassy and he knew she was probably strung out. "Oh, Jason." She sounded tired when she spoke, and touched her fingers delicately to the bruise forming on the side of his face, "I didn't know where you'd gone." She frowned a little.

Jason closed his hand over here and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, "Just went on a walk to clear my head. Is dad still gone?"

Catherine nodded, "Yes. I don't know where he's went either."

Jason sighed, "That's fine. Don't need him here anyhow. He's probably getting drunk at the nearest bar." He stood to his full height and offered Catherine his hand, "Come on, you're a mess. Let's get you cleaned up."

Catherine took his hand and Jason helped her to her feet, letting her lean against him as he took her to the bathroom.

"Met someone nice while I was out, mom." Jason told her as he grabbed the coat from the shower and went to put it on the radiator instead, since it was done dripping. When he came back, she was sitting on the edge of the tub, staring down at her hands again, picking at the skin around her nails. He quickly took her hands in his own so she'd stop, "He sat with me in the rain."

Catherine looked at him and moved her hands so she could thread their fingers together, "Did you make a friend?" She asked, drawing his hand up to her face so she could kiss his damaged knuckles.

"Not really." He looked down at his mother before crouching so he could be more at her level, "He was a good guy. Didn't smoke, gave me his jacket, was a little nosy. Too good for the likes of me, huh?" He chuckled a little.

Catherine pulled her hands away from his and cupped his face, "Jason, it makes me sad that you would think a good man is too good for you." She said, her voice taking on a firm edge to it, "You're a good man too." She combed her fingers through his hair and he leaned into her hand, "You wouldn't take care of me like you do if you weren't a good man. And you wouldn't stand up to your father, even if it gets you hurt." She pressed a gentle kiss to the gash on his brow.

Jason sighed and dipped his head away from her hands, "Don't matter now, I'm probably never going to see the guy again, mom." He said, reaching around her to start the water, "C'mon, you gotta get in the tub." He said, standing up and getting Catherine to her feet again.

He left the room while she got undressed and went to clean up the master bedroom a little, ripping the stained sheets off the bed and taking them to the laundry. He went and collected Catherine's clothes to take to the laundry as well and found her a clean set.

After he'd picked up a broken picture frame, some glass fragments, and a few other thing that had been thrown in his dad's outburst, he went to the kitchen and made grilled cheese sandwiches, putting pickles on his own and ham on Catherine's.

They ate silently once Catherine was done with her bath, and once she went to sleep, Jason went through the drawers in her nightstand. He collected a small bottle containing Ketamine and a needle and tucked them away into the pocket of his jeans, looking down at his mother sadly. He went to his own room, snagging the coat from the radiator on his way, and locked the door. He put the needle and the Ketamine in a drawer in his dresser before pulling out a pair of loose cotton night pants.

He dressed down and then lied on his bed with his hands folded over his chest. As he contemplated the ceiling, trying to fall asleep, he allowed his thoughts to wander a little. What a horrible fucking evening it had been. But despite that, the only thing really on his mind was how intently Dick had stared at him while Jason had been finishing his cigarette.

Those blue fucking eyes were going to haunt his dreams, he just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, i added a brief second chapter to this. the rest of this, if i do decide to continue, will be split up into a series.  
> i just kind of wanted to add this. i started writing it in the beginning of the next work i was doing, but realized it was better suited as a second chapter to the first piece. this is the only two chapters for this one, but i made it a series, so there will be other works in the series, hopefully.
> 
> the works after this will be more focused on the ship. because i didn't set out to write a lot of angst when i started this.
> 
> comments and kudos are much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> wow, this was so short.
> 
> i could possibly turn this into a series if people liked this well enough, but as it stands, it is currently a one shot. however, i kind of already built some ideas around it because i'm horrible at sticking to just one project.
> 
> comments are what inspire me to write more, so if you liked this, tell me! i love to hear from you guys. concrit is also appreciated!  
> thank you for reading!


End file.
